# Trae Stephens Co-founder and Executive Chairman of [[Anduril]] Industries. Partner at [[Founders Fund]] since 2014. The critical bridge between [[Palantir]]'s intelligence work and Anduril's autonomous weapons systems. ## Background - Joined [[Palantir]] in 2008 as an early employee. Led teams expanding defense/intelligence business, international growth, and product development. - Became a partner at [[Founders Fund]] in 2014 — [[Peter Thiel]]'s VC firm. - Met [[Palmer Luckey]] at a Founders Fund retreat in 2014. The two bonded over applying Silicon Valley startup techniques to the defense sector. - Co-founded [[Anduril]] in 2017 alongside Luckey and fellow ex-Palantir colleagues. ## Significance Stephens is the connective tissue in defense tech's origin story: Palantir taught him how to sell software to the Pentagon, Founders Fund gave him the capital networks, and Anduril let him build the next-generation version from scratch. He's been called "the investor who called defense tech's big moment." ## Cultural Note Featured in Vanity Fair's piece on Christianity becoming Silicon Valley's "new religion" — Stephens is part of a visible cohort of defense tech founders with openly conservative, faith-driven worldviews. ## Conflict of Interest: Transition Team → Anduril Stephens is one of the clearest revolving door cases in defense tech: 1. **November 23, 2016**: Named to Trump's DOD transition team — a "landing team" of 9-10 people responsible for staffing and policy at the Pentagon 2. **2017**: Co-founds [[Anduril]] Industries with [[Palmer Luckey]] 3. **2017–2026**: Anduril wins billions in DOD contracts, culminating in the [[Anduril $20B Army Contract]] (March 2026) 4. **2025**: Considered for Deputy Secretary of Defense — which would make him the #2 civilian at the Pentagon overseeing contracts for his own company Stephens continues to serve as a [[Founders Fund]] partner while Anduril receives government contracts, creating a dual role where he simultaneously invests in defense companies and advises the government that funds them. See: [[Defense Tech Conflicts of Interest]], [[Revolving Door]] ## Notable Quotes - [[Trae Stephens - no pacifism without a monopoly on violence]] — Sourcery interview, Dec 2025: the just-war intellectual register of Anduril's case for building weapons. Featured in [[The Violence Is the Point]]. ## See Also - [[Anduril]] - [[Palantir]] - [[Founders Fund]] - [[Palmer Luckey]] - [[Peter Thiel]] - [[Defense Tech Conflicts of Interest]] - [[Revolving Door]]